Seed-drill



(No'ModeL) 6 v .4 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. G. MATTHEWS.

SEED DRILL.

No. 266,960. Patented Oct. 31, 1882..

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Jam Ma mcu'bh g 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

B. G. MATTHEWS.

SEED DRILL;

Patented Oct. 31-, 1882.,

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

E. G. MATTHEWS.

SEED DRILL.

No. 266,960. Patented Oct. 31, 1882.

Wit 11125525 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELBRIDGE Gr. MATTHEWS, OF OAKHAM, ASSIGNOR TO ELIJAH E. LUMMUS, OFBEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS.

SEED-DRILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 266,960, dated October31, 1882.

Application filed December 5, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELBRIDGE G. MAT- 'IIIEWS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Oakham, in the county of WVorcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSeed- Drills; and I do hereby declare that the same are fully describedin the following specification and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

This invention relates to improvements in seed-drills, and it is carriedout as follows, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 represents a plan View of the invention. Fig. 2represents a side elevation, seen from X in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents alongitudinal section on the line A B, seen from Y in Fig. 1; and Fig. 4represents a cross-section on the line C D shown in Fig. 1.

Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on thedifferent parts of the drawings.

(t represents the driving-wheel, )lOVldQd with a ratchet-ring, 01/, foroperating the agitator'within the hopper, as usual.

at is the shaft for the driving-wheel a, which is free to rotate in abearingin the forward end of the rigid frames b b, the rear ends ofwhich have-bearings c 0 attached for the sup port of the axle c of theconcave roller 0, as shown. By arranging the axles for both thedriving-wheel a and concave roller 0 in bearings in the rigid frames bl)great strength, compactness, and durability of the machine is obtained.

The seed-box is composed of upper cylindrical part, d, combined withlower tapering part, d, cast in one piece, the latterbeing made taperingexternally as well as internally, as shown in the drawings, to enablethe seed-delivery plate 6 to be exposed to viewfor the operator to admitof an easy change by turning the delivery-plate 6 around its centralpivot, c, as shown in Fig. 3.

Heretofore the seed-box on seed-drills has been made to cover andcompletely hide the delivery-plate from view, which arrangement has beenobjectionable, as it would not enable the operator to change the platefrom a larger to a smaller delivery-opening, or vice versa, withouttrying the effect in running the machine; but by making the seed-boxwith a lower tapering exterior part, (1, more than onehalf of thedelivery-plate 0 is exposed to view for the operator, and an easy changeof said plate 0 may therefore readily be accomplished at any time. 1 v

c c are perforations in the seed-delivery plate, as usual. ff are a pairof laterally-adjustable markerbars, located in bearings g g, secured tothe under side of the rigid frames 1) b by means of the screw-bolts g gand adjustable thumbnuts gg, as shown in Fig.2. Each bearing 9 g isprovided with a pair of steady or guide pins, 9' g, projecting intorecesses on the under side of each of the rigid frames 1) b, so as toprevent said bearings from getting detached from the frames 1) 1) duringthe lateral adjustment of the marker-bars ff. By arranging themarker-bars ff on the under side of the rigid frames 1) b the lnachineisprevented from tipping over sidewis'e when left to itself, and this is agreat advantage, as heretofore when a seed-drill was not in use it wasliable to tip over and spill the seeds on the ground if it was nototherwise propped up or steadied.

i is the bearingplate, secured to and resting on the top of the rigidbars I) b. The hopper or seed-receptacle d d is secured to said bearing-plate, as is also the pivot c for the perforated seed-delivery plate0. The bearing-plate c has a central perforation, 2', directly below thecentral perforation, c in the bottom of the hopper d d, as shown in Fig.3.

' I is the seed-conductor, cast in one piece with the bearing-plate iand projecting downward from the latter, as shown in Fig. 3, and in thismanner great strength and durability is obtained, and by casting suchbearing-plate and seed-conductor together in one rigid piece nomovement'ot' one independent of the other is possible, as might occur bythe getting loose of parts if the said two pieces were madeindependently of each other, and in this manner great accuracy in thedelivery of the seeds is obtained.

I I I are lateral scattering-bars in the lower part of theseed-conductor I, as shown in Fig.3, the object of which is to allow theseeds as they drop down the seed-conductor from the hopper to strikeagainst the said bars I I I, and the seeds in so doing are caused toseatter more or less in the furrow made by the plow and prevented fromfalling on the top of each other.

is the vertically-adjustable plow projecting in front of and on thesides of the seedconductor I, on which it is vertically adjustable bymeans of the screw-bolt k and thumbnut k" to regulate the depth of thefurrow below the surface of the ground as may be desired. The lower endof the plow k is provided in front and at its s des with concave flaringedges /r 70 70' for the purpose of opening a wide furrow at the bottomfor the reception of the scattered seeds.

Each marker-barf is provided in its outer end with an eye or staple, f,(shown in the upper part of Fig. 1,) into which is booked the detachablemarker f, the latter having for this purpose a hook,f, attached in itsupper end, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower end of the markerf is providedwith a metallic shoe or scraper, f to drag on the ground and make therequired mark on the ground in which to guide the driving-wheel a at theproper distance and parallel with the first row of depositing the seed.Only one marker is required for each machine, and when the op eratorreaches the end of the field he has only to detach the marker from oneof the markerbars and hook it to the opposite one, and so on.

The seed-delivery plate 0 is nickel-plated, by which its surface is madehard and smooth and not so liable to wear out, and is preserved from theaction of the weather and rust-deposit, which is very liable to clog upand close the smaller perforations in it, and thereby prevent the seedsfrom passing through such perforations, except by first scraping andcleaning the edges of such perforations.

l l are the handles of the machine, as usual secured in their forwardends to the frames 1) b and farther up to the sides of the hopper d, asshown.

m is the agitator shaft, supported in the sleeve-bearing m, secured tothe inside of the hopper d. g

m is the agitator-finger, secured to the inner end of the agitator-shaftm, thelatter passing through one side of the hopper d, and havingattached to its outer end a lever, m, the forward end of which isoperated by the ratchet or toothed ring a, so as to impart areciprocating motion to the agitator-finger m to expelthe seeds from thehopper d d down through the seed-conductor I.

n is a hinged shipper-lever, as usual for holding the lever m out ofcontact with the toothed ring a in driving the machine over the groundwithout depositing the seeds, as may be required in rolling the machineto and from the field.

The object of makingthe sleeve-bearing m inside of the hopper andattaching it to one side only of the latter is so as to obtain morespace inside ofthe latter for the reception ofthe seeds, and also to getaccess with ease to the bottom perforations of the hopper if it shouldget clogged up by the seeds, which would be difficult to accomplish werethe agitator-shaft to extend diametrically through the hopper with aseparate bearing in each of the ends of said agitator-shat t.

What I wish to secure by Letters Patent, and claim, is

1. The combination, with the bar I) of hopper-frame and the marker-barf,of the stapleshaped bar g, having an arm and provided with points orprojections g, and the adjusting screw-bolt g and nut g,- substantiallyas described.

2. The combination of the hopper dd, plate 6, base-plate 2', cast withthe seed-conductor I, having transverse bars I and a vertical slot, theplow 7t, adjustably connected to said conductor, the agitator-shaft m,having the lever m and stirrer m, marker-bar f, detachably connected tothe frame-bar I), and having hinged arm f, provided with a shoe, f anddriving and transporting wheels (0 c, substantially as described.

3. In a seed-drill, the seed-box, as described, composed of uppercylindrical part, (1, combined with lower tapering part, d, and exposedseed-delivery plate 6, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ELBRIDGE G. MATTHEWS.

Witnesses:

LizzIE N. FLINN, ELIZABETH J. HUBBARD.

